Sup. Alexander Discovers Important County Transit File Was Deleted

The Transportation, Public Works & Transit Committee today voted 4-3 (No: Alexander, Borkowski, Taylor) to move forward with an April 1st deadline for an ID card system allowing entirely free bus passes for the elderly and disabled. The original proposal, also called the GO Pass, was approved in the 2015 budget, notwithstanding the objection of numerous transit advocates and senior citizen groups.

The board’s Chairwoman proposed that the committee vote to approve moving forward, citing anticipated expenses of only $160,000 for implementation of the Go Pass.

However, Supervisor Alexander discovered that the contravening departmental report, (File 15-166) citing actual anticipated costs of over $1 Million in 2015 and $2.1 Million in 2016 and asking for more time for implementation, was conspicuously absent from the legislative system.

“While the budget may require development of the Go Pass program, charging full speed ahead with knowledge of conflicting cost reports and arbitrary deadlines that we’ve been warned could lead to fraud and poor service to the public is simply poor policymaking,” said Supervisor Alexander.

“We should be alarmed that such important reports drawing attention to an excesses of government spending, and specifically intended for review by the board, would ever be deleted from the public legislative record,” she continued.

Supervisor Alexander supports having all available information brought to light and considered at a special committee meeting prior to a full board vote.

It is written, ‘for everything there is a season,’ and I conclude that now is not the season for me to serve our community as an Alderman

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